Donnhoff Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese 2017
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James
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Robert
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Spectator
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Winemaker Notes
This wine offers expressive acidity with an amazing rush of green, granny apple and fresh-plucked verbena leaves. Traditional, stately Spatlese with an incredible wealth of fruit aromas and, despite its impressive concentration, an ephemeral grace and elegance.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Most people who drink wine know what a ripe peach tastes like. However, this wine gives you a completely new appreciation of the meaning of the word “peach”. Beyond that, it possesses subtlety that is extremely rare anywhere in the world of food and wine. From organically grown grapes. Fair'n Green certification. Absolutely delicious now, but could be held for decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese combines ripe and noble fruit with delicate crystalline and flinty aromas. Very precise and stimulating. This is significantly finer than the Brücke; it's singing and interwoven with very delicate slate and flinty notes, and it is still fresh and cool despite its ripeness. On the palate, this is a deep, dense and complex, very mineral and tensioned yet always refined and salty-piquant Spätlese with terroir expression and a promising, complex and stimulating finish. Great and sustainable. Tasted in July 2019. Rating : 94+
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Wine Spectator
Fabulous, with yellow apple, durian, honeysuckle and orange marmalade flavors packed into the core. Distinct acidity pierces through, making this very precise and finely executed. Licorice notes linger on the long, richly spiced finish. Drink now through 2034.
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The grandchild of the estate‘s founder, Helmut Dönnhoff, paved the way for international success by establishing an enduring quality and style in his wines. His vintages would in fact become a byword for renowned German Rieslings the world over. Following his training at his parents‘ estate and university studies in winegrowing, he assumed responsibility for both vineyard and cellar starting in 1971. “Extraordinary wines are based on extraordinary vineyards. I‘m fortunate to have had the opportunity to acquire several world-class sites and in some cases to resume cultivation. It remains very much a privilege for me to produce wine from vineyards of such exceptional quality. It‘s more than I ever could have dreamed when I first started working.” This deep understanding of grand wines and grand vineyards was passed on from father to son to grandson.
The fourth generation now holds the reins: Cornelius Dönnhoff. He began his training in 1999 and, after a series of positions abroad, in 2007 returned to assume responsibility for the estate – initially for the vineyard and cellar, and now for all aspects of the operation. History continues, but the estate remains what it has always been: a family affair in every sense.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
